"Stop flicking your ponytail in my face," is not the sort of sentence associated with gritty, authentic rock 'n' roll. But then if it's the anarchist soul of the genre you're hoping to find, it's probably best not to venture into the O2 arena to watch Bryan Adams. Bigger venues may give more people a chance of parting with 50 quid to see their favourite band but it's the little hangouts, the dirty dive bars and the underground joints that restore your faith in the ongoing campaign to stick it to the man.

Take for instance Wild at Heart in Berlin which Max Decharne, lead singer of the Flaming Stars describes thus: "A whiskey-soaked no-nonsense rock 'n' roll joint in Berlin's old anarchist district … crammed with a lifetime's supply of hard liquor." And how about A38 in Budapest, a huge old ship now in dry dock and serving as a music venue where the parties get so wild "the bottles still jingle on the shelves despite 100 tonnes of concrete holding the boat down". Or so says Radio 1 DJ Mary Anne Hobbs.

You remember bottles that jingle? They didn't always make them out of plastic.

On a quest to unearth true grassroots music venues across the globe, we asked DJs, musicians and music writers to reveal their favourite hangouts. You can see the results here although your kidneys may start hurting just reading about them. So neck a pint of water, share your top local spot and then jump back into the mosh pit. Bonus points for flicking your hair in Bryan Adams' face.